Time flies, and the Chinese New Year is just around the corner.

A small commodities market sprang up from the ground, and by the time people around realized what was happening, the fences surrounding the market had already been removed.

A banner advertising the rental was put up at the entrance.

A main road leads directly to the port, facilitating the passage of large trucks, and has been expanded to six lanes.

The dusty dirt roads that used to be there are long gone, replaced by main roads leading to the city and various provincial highways.

When Huo Qizhen drove here again, he almost didn't recognize him.

This speed is much faster than that in Guangzhou.

What he didn't know was that the success of Yangcheng Electronic Technology City greatly boosted the confidence of Beijing's Ministry of Commerce, leading to increased investment and overtime work to build the market.

Lu Qiuying arrived early to set things up.

In fact, even the people in the Fuzhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce are not optimistic about this market.

Lu Qiuying was anxious. She had sent out the flyers, but only a few people had come all morning.

“Minister Lu, I’d like to rent three stalls.” Huo Qizhen sat down at the table, his eyes shining.

This location is perfect; it's convenient to get around.

The main feature is that a road has been opened that leads directly to the port, which will make transportation more convenient in the future.

"Okay, let's choose a stall over here." Lu Qiuying beckoned a staff member over to greet her, frequently glancing at her watch.

Huo Qizhen glanced at the rent; it was 2,000 yuan a month, much cheaper than the electronics and technology city in Guangzhou.

The rent for a stall over there is already 5,000.

He now rents three stalls for a total of 6,000 yuan, plus a deposit of 1 yuan per stall. The first ten people to sign a contract will get two months' rent waived, and the annual rent plus a deposit of 1 yuan will be paid in full.

That's what he thinks, but others don't.

One of the people signing the contract saw the rent and exclaimed, "Why is it so expensive?"

"This small stall is less than 10 square meters, and the monthly rent is 2,000 yuan with a deposit. This is not how you rob people."

The staff member explained from the side.

The rent they set was already considered cheap, considering that the roads and other infrastructure in the area were built specifically for this market.

“A shop in the city only costs a thousand yuan a month. If I didn’t know this place was built by the government, I wouldn’t rent it here,” the man said loudly.

A number of villagers who came to watch the spectacle quickly gathered around.

This used to be a barren mountain, and people would avoid it even when trying to cultivate the land because the mountain was almost entirely made of rocks, and nothing could grow there.

Li Zhaodi and her younger brother came to rent a stall, and when they saw the commotion, they quickly squeezed into the crowd.

After signing the contract, Huo Qizhen put the documents in his bag and was about to leave.

Hearing the noise, he stopped in his tracks and forced a smile.

Comparing shops in the city to those near the port reveals all sorts of oddities.

It takes an hour to drive from the city to the port, and the transportation costs saved each month are enough to cover a month's rent.

"How much does it cost per month?" Li Zhaodi squeezed through the crowd and asked the villagers next to her.

"2000 yuan a month, that's almost my annual salary..."

Li Zhaodi's eyes widened, and she quickly turned around to look for her younger brother, Li Chenggong.

She saw that her younger brother was ready to sign the contract, so she quickly squeezed out of the crowd.

“Don’t sign, are you crazy…” Li Zhaodi shouted, but her brother wouldn’t listen to her and was about to sign and pay the money.

"Sister, move aside." Li Chenggong looked at her impatiently.

His small commodity workshop, which he co-founded, is now selling like hotcakes.

Last month, we shipped out a batch of goods and made 20,000 yuan. The three of us each received almost 4,000 yuan, and we kept some to buy more materials for shipment.

Li Chenggong used to envy his sister for being able to work in a factory, but now that he's a boss, he doesn't care about factory wages at all.

If his mother hadn't been afraid he'd be scammed and insisted his older sister come along, he would have arrived much earlier.

"The annual rent is [amount], plus the deposit, that's the total." The staff member looked up at Li Zhaodi and said to Li Chenggong with a smile.

"The first ten tenants to sign a contract will have two months' rent waived," the staff member continued.

"You're scamming me, aren't you? 30,000 yuan? Who would pay that much to rent a stall?"

Li Zhaodi shouted loudly, trying to grab the contract, but her brother held it above his head, and she couldn't reach it at all.

Li Chenggong ignored her and handed the large denomination bill he had prepared to the staff.

“Here’s 30,000, count it and issue an invoice while you’re at it,” Li Chenggong said, grabbing Li Zhaodi’s hands with one hand.

"Sister, don't be ridiculous, or I'll come to your house and cause trouble."

Li Zhaodi immediately shut up. Her son wasn't home, her husband had broken a leg, and she couldn't stop her younger brother from causing trouble at her door.

Meanwhile, those on the other side who were still haggling over the rent looked at them.

Li Chenggong was wearing flip-flops and patched clothes, yet he handed over 30,000 yuan, leaving everyone stunned.

"There are two spots left. If you miss them, you won't get two free rent payments. We'll only be giving away six months of property management fees..." the staff member announced.

Those who had been arguing and making a scene couldn't hold back any longer and swarmed forward.

However, with security guards maintaining order, they had no choice but to wait in line obediently.

Li Chenggong pulled Li Zhaodi aside, his face full of impatience.

"Brother, where did you get so much money? You didn't do anything illegal, did you?"

“Don’t you dare follow Ah Sheng’s example…” Li Zhaodi almost burst into tears.

Thirty thousand yuan, just like that, all of it was handed over.

If her mother found out, she would skin her alive.

From childhood to adulthood, whenever her younger brother did something wrong, her parents would beat her.

When she was little, her younger brother did chores and she would get a sore throat from him, so her father would chase her all over the village and beat her.

When her brother broke an egg, her mother picked up a stick and hit her thigh with it.

"Mind your own business." Li Chenggong glanced at the time, then turned and left.

He rode his motorcycle over; the two of them had arrived long ago. They had intended to observe, but after seeing Huo Qizhen sign the contract, they couldn't wait any longer.

"Sister, I won't take you back. It's only a ten-minute walk back to the village from here." Li Chenggong got on his motorcycle and drove off.

When Li Zhaodi caught up, she only saw his back.

She turned to look at the bustling market entrance, feeling as if a bite had been taken out of her heart.

30,000 yuan is gone just like that, how can she explain it to her mother?

Thinking of this, Li Zhaodi pounded her chest and walked towards the village entrance.

After she left, more and more business owners came to sign contracts, and soon all the stalls that were initially released were rented out.

Those who rushed there in the afternoon found nothing.

Lu Qiuying returned to the village and breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Thinking back to when she was first questioned about the high rent and Mr. Huo stepped in to explain, she shook her head and chuckled.

"Minister Lu, wait a minute."

Lu Qiuying stopped in her tracks; the voice sounded somewhat familiar.

Today at the market, someone was shouting loudly that they were cheating people; it sounded like that.

Li Zhaodi waited at the village entrance and finally caught up with Lu Qiuying. She hurriedly ran after her.

She planned to get the money her brother had paid back before her mother found out.

"Who are you?" Lu Qiuying looked at her suspiciously, feeling that she looked familiar but not remembering who she was.

Li Zhaodi: "I am Li Chenggong's older sister. Today he rented a stall in that small commodities market."

He's young and impulsive, don't think things through. Could you please return his money so we can cancel the lease?